CHILLICOTHE - Other than a couple of minor hiccups, the 74th annual Ross County Fair went relatively smoothly, according to fair board officials.

In the second year of the fair's new ticketing system, Bryan Bethel, fair board president, said they documented attendance was down by about 1,100 people this year. That number, however, doesn't take Saturday's attendance or wristband wearers into consideration.

"But that could be a mix up because of our ticketing system too, so it's kind of hard to count right now," he said, adding there were some computer problems early in the week that have since been ironed out.

On the final fair day of 2017, the fair board documented almost 16,000 people had attended the fair. This year, they've estimated about 14,600 people attended.

In addition to troubles with the ticketing system, the campgrounds experienced some electrical issues throughout the week.

"People don't understand with the electric, this place sits here. Yeah we have different events, but we never hook up that much, so some of these boxes get used one week a year," Bethel said. "It sits all that time, and then when you fire it up..."

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A boy on free ride day enjoys multiple jumps during the Ross County Fair.(Photo: Robert McGraw/Gazette)

While fairgrounds crews may know the electrical box is working before campers arrive, he said the draw of both the campgrounds and the midway in 90-degree heat can really stress out their system.

"We're almost big enough we could use our own substation, but we can't afford that," Bethel said in a joking tone.

With this year being Bethel's first year as fair board president, he said it's gone better than he expected in some ways, but worse in others. He cited the ticketing system issues, as well as some trash issues at the campgrounds.

"Any time you hire somebody new, there's growing pains and you've just got to work out the kinks," Bethel said, going on to mention there are about 1,400-1,500 campers with a trash bin for every two sites.

"They just didn't realize how big of a job (it was), I believe, and had trouble making the rounds," Mary Ludwig, fair board secretary, chimed in.

They ended up hiring on another crew to aid in collecting trash, but Bethel was adamant the issue would be improved upon for the next fair week.

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A cowboy watches the events at the Rodeo Thursday night.(Photo: Robert McGraw/Gazette)

In a Tuesday evening Facebook post, the Ross County Sheriff's Office thanked the public for its patience with the traffic situation going on at the Fairgrounds Road and Ohio 104 intersection at the beginning of the week. The signal at the intersection, they reported, malfunctioned and wasn't able to be repaired, prompting their purchase of new equipment, which was installed with the help of the Ohio Department of Transportation.

As for events at the grandstands, neither Ludwig or Bethel felt there had been any significant issues and hoped to have several events return in the coming year, such as autocross, the demolition derby, and the monster truck event.

"Everything went fine until we got drowned last night," Bethel said, referring to a storm system that blew through the Chillicothe area Friday night. "They were still able to hold the event. Luckily the event we had planned, you can do in the rain if you want, as long as there's not lightning."

Not only was it Bethel's first year as board president, but also Ludwig's first year hired on with the board. She felt except for people coming into the office to inform them their electric was out and the trash issue, she hadn't handled many if any, problems this year.

Other than the first couple days of heat, the weather remained relatively mild for Ross County Fair week considering the time of year. According to Branson Leisure, Ross County Fire & Rescue Association president, the EMS booth took 11 people to the hospital over the course of the week and had treated and released 34 others. The number of people taken to the hospital was down from 17 the previous year.

In the coming year, Bethel said he hopes to fix and improve upon the electric system. Other than improving upon this year's issues, he didn't feel there was much he'd learned from this year, he'd carry into the next - aside from some minor adjustments here and there.

"I've taken a couple board members to the rabbit barn and tried to see if we can extend the top out for shade for the families," he said. "Everybody in the center of the barn, they're fine, but everybody on the outside, they're cooking (in the sun)."

As of Saturday evening, it's a wrap for the 2018 Ross County Fair. The fair board will get a 10-day break before beginning preparation and planning for next year.